Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call
by Wilona Riva
Summary: God recounts to Moses the story of Abraham.
1. River of the Vision

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bible.

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**River of the Vision**

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The man kicked a stone into the river. Traffic was crowded over the bridge as the idol of Ishtar, patron goddess of the city, made her rounds on this festive day. He made no move to join in the procession. That caught the eye of an old man in the crowd.

"You mark my words, young man, you will get yourself killed someday if you don't respect the priests and the gods of our people," Old Terah told the youth.

The youth arched an eyebrow. "I know of only one God," he stated firmly.

"So did my father Nahor," Terah said, examining the stones in the ground. Selecting one flat sided rock, worn smooth by the tide, he skipped it several times over the river's surface before it sank.

"Four," he crowed. "I may be old, but I've still got the touch."

The youth laughed. "I'm glad to see you still have respect for your father's faith as well. I want you to leave this city and go to Haran. Take your family and leave on the morrow."

"I cannot make such a long journey," the old man protested. "I'm old enough to be your great-grandfather."

"I'm far older than I appear," the young man chided him. "Trust me."

"You'd have to be God Himself if you expect me to believe you," Terah shot back at him.

The young man's eyes flashed fire for a second. "Perhaps I am," he answered, before fading into the crowd.

Terah rubbed his eyes and blinked. "I'll be hornswaggled," he muttered. "Better get these lazybones packing up the household. Abram is going to kill me. He hasn't had time to plant the new winter crops."

**Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. (Genesis 12:31)**

_Moses penned the words just as the LORD commanded him. A thought struck him._

_"How many times did You skip that rock?" he asked his Creator._

_"Does it matter?" the Lord replied._

_Moses shrugged. "Not really," he said. "I was just wondering."_

_"Once," the Most High said, departing the tent. "I may be grandiose, but I'm not a show-off."_

_"Just a know-it-all," Moses muttered._

_"Part of the job description," was Adonai's parting shot._


	2. Burning Bridge

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Burning Bridge**

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**Terah lived 205 years, and then he died in Haran. (Genesis 11:32)**

Abram wanted to cry as he never had before, but the tears would not fall. His father had lived a long life and was at rest with his fathers before him. He would miss the old man.

"Abram?" his wife's voice said from the tent flap. "Come inside."

Abram nodded and entered. Sitting down on the rug, Sarai gave him a bowl of vegetable stew and a mug of sour beer. "Here, this will settle your stomach. Don't be afraid to cry; keeping the tears bottled up will not bring him back. Your father loved you."

Abram nodded and boke off a chunk of bread that his concubine, Keturah, had brought him. He dipped it in the the bowl and began to eat. "Thank you," he said.

Both women left him to grieve in peace.

Sarai leaned against a pole and let her tears fall. Keturah patted her shoulder, signing she wanted to comfort her. The gesture brought a faint smile to her eyes.

"Thank you, Keturah," she said, glad that Abram had found this gentle woman who spoke with her hands. "You are a gift from the Shining One."

Keturah smiled at the comment and bowed her head, blushing at the comment.

Several days later, Abram was out in the fields taking his turn in guarding the sheep. The wind ruffled the grass with its cool breath, a refreshing breath on a hot summer day.

Then his head jerked up. _Who is calling me?_

He looked all around for the Voice. "Uh, hello? Anyone there?" he asked, a bit annoyed. When no one appeared, he shrugged it off. _Must have been my imagination._

**"Abram!" **the Great King called again.

_Moses put his stylus down and reread over today's portion of the Torah._

_"You must get that reaction a lot," he told the Lord._

_"More times than you can imagine," came the dry comment._

Author's Note: Keturah is mentioned is Genesis 25:1.


	3. Hard Word

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible

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**Hard Word**

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Lot observed the chaos around him as the tents were taken down. "Okay, tell me again, why we are leaving good pasture land?" he asked his uncle.

"Because I was told to," Abram said, tallying up the tent's food supplies. Looking up into his nephew's cynical eyes, he sighed. "Shouldn't you be getting your own people ready?"

Lot shook his head. "Libni is perfectly capable of handling things. Uncle, what happened out in the pasture? There have been rumors flying all over the camp."

Abram sighed and put down the wet clay tablet and the long reed he was using. He was running out of room on the tablet to write with anyway. The picture language he had learned in his youth was only a few centuries old, but getting more complex as time went on. Maybe he should learn the heiroglyphs of the priests and scribes in the southern lands.

"Alright, Lot," he told his nephew, "I was out in the field yesterday..."

**The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I wlll curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3)**

"Uncle, you are seventy-five years old and are just going to-out of the blue-obey a strange voice that spoke to you in a pasture under the open sky and leave Haran for a strange land?" Lot asked.

"Yes," Abram said, "I will obey the strange voice I heard."

"Why?" Lot asked.

"Because I trust Him," Abram said.

_"All it takes is faith as small as a grain of mustard seed to move mountains," the LORD was telling Moses, when Aaron burst in._

_"Aaron!" Moses yelled._

_"Sorry, but your father-in-law, wife, and sons are here and want to see you," he said, apologetically before ducking back outside._

_"It has been a long time since I've seen my family," the Israelite told the Most High._

_"Don't mark the spot where you bury the hatchet," the LORD advised._


	4. Woman of Her Word

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Woman of Her Word**

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Abram pulled Sarai aside, just before they reached the border of the kingdom of the sacred river. "Sarai, please if anyone asks, you are my sister."

She pulled her veil tighter around her face. "Why ever would I do that?"

**"I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (Genesis 12:11b-13)**

Sarai frowned. "Abram, I don't like this one bit. Deception is a two-headed cobra. The king of this land may decide to kill you anyway."

Abram's eyes were downcast. "For my sake, please, Sarai?"

Sarai frowned. "Why don't you trust in your God, Abram?"

Belial gripped one icy hand over Abram's heart. "He's not the God of this land; therefore he has no power here," the demon lied to the patriarch.

An icy fear gripped the aging nomad. _Was it possible that the Lord wasn't with them in this venture? Should he have stayed in the Promised Land despite the terrible famine raging there?_

Belial chuckled and slithered away. He had placed a wedge in the relationship of this human and his Creator. A good day's job done.

"Sarai, I don't know," he lamely admitted, revealing the contents of his heart.

Keturah, who had been a silent witness to this conversation, was a bit sad. A great man of faith her lord was, and now doubt was found in his heart.

**And when Pharoah's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharoah, and she was taken into his palace. (Genesis 12:15)**

Sarai bent her knees and prayed for deliverance from such oppulence. "Oh, Shining One who speaks to my master Abram, please return me to him. This place, though beautiful, is not my home. Its gods are not gods; only You are God. My place is at Abram's side. I want to go home."

The Lord heard and answered her prayer.

**But the LORD infilicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. (Genesis 12:17)**

"How could you have done this to me?" the Pharaoh thundered at the old man. "I took your people in, fed you, clothed you, and even took your sister to wife."

Abram's tears threatened to overflow, not to mention his bladder. Looking upwards at the king, his sad eyes piereced the soul. "I was afraid for my life, that's why I said what I said."

The pharaoh nodded and winced as the boil on his butt shot painful spasms through his backside. "Take your wife and go. Pray that your god will lift this plague from my household."

Abram took a joyous Sarai back to his tent that night. She was accompanied by a lovely young girl with swarthy skin and the sloe eyes of a gazelle. "What is your name, little one?" he asked.

She smiled up at her new master. "Hagar," she said quietly.

**Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. (Genesis 12:20)**

_"Boils?" Moses stared up at the ceiling. "You sure use that particular plague quite a bit."_

_"Gets man's attention every time," the Most High told him._


	5. Splintered Spark

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bible.

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**Splintered Spark**

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Satan snarled at the idyllic scene before him. "Can nothing destroy this man and his family?" he yelled in frustration.

The other demons looked on as he paced back and forth. The pastoral scene below was way too peaceful for their liking.

Time to shake things up.

**Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. (Genesis 13:5-6)**

"Uncle Abram, can we talk?" Lot asked, upon being admitted to his uncle's tent.

"About what this time?" Abram asked, a little irate at his nephew. "All you seem to do is complain lately."

Two demons high-five each other.

"The water and good pasture cannot sustain both our flocks. Our herdsmen are fighting constantly with one another. I think it is best we split apart for a while," Lot told him.

Abram rose to his feet. "Come with me, nephew."

Lot followed his uncle to a high cliff around the backside of the camp. There, spread out before them was a panorama of beauty-the land of Canaan-as far as the eye could see.

**"Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left." (Genesis 13:9)**

Lot rubbed his ears. He couldn't have heard his uncle correctly.

Abram repeated himself. "Choose where you wish to live; I'll go in the opposite direction from you where there will be no strife between us."

Lot bowed his head and surveyed the land below them. To the north and south were wilderness and desert, a few watering holes, and many tiny villages. To the east were the thriving towns of Sodom and Gomorrah, not very good places to live-his wife and daughters would enjoy the shopping and social interactions perhaps and there was good grazing land. To the west were the sea and the Philistines. He sighed.

"I've made my decision."

**Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. (Genesis 13:12-13)**

Satan cackled with glee. This was too perfect an opportunity to pass up.

Lot and his family would be swallowed by Sodom's debauchery in no time.

Abram, meanwhile, knelt down to pray to El Shaddai, the God Who Spoke. "Forgive me, Lord, for rendering asunder my family. Strife was riddling the camp; I could not let it continue. Please be with Lot and his family and protect them from the evil influences of the cities of the plain. Thank you."

The wind kicked up its heels at that point.

_"Abram, look at the dust in the wind,"_ the Great Uncle instructed.

He looked.

**"I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." (Genesis 13:16-17)**

_Moses stiffled another sniffle. Tears fell from his eyes._

_A hand gently wiped away his tears. "My family will not always be broken thus," he heard the LORD speak gently. "I will gather them from the four corners of the earth where they wandered and bring them home. And I will wipe away all tears on that day."_

_Moses bowed his head. "What an awesome God we serve," he said in his heart._


	6. Scent of Flames

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bible.

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**Scent of Flames**

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Satan watched the city being put to the torch. The screams of horror rising from the plains was music to his ears. Chedorlaomer and his cohorts were useful pawns in his war against the Most High.

Lot, knowing he and his could be captured any moment, grabbed a youth passing by. Pressing a few coins into his hand, he whispered a message to him, just soldiers burst into his courtyard.

"Lot of Ur?" the commander asked.

"I am he," Abram's nephew replied.

**The four kings siezed all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. (Genesis 14:11-12)**

"Abram!" a herdsman yelled, running up the pathway to where Abram and his wives were enjoying the noon repast. Young Hagar was brushing Keturah's hair, while Sarai was stirring the pot of red lentil stew.

"What is it?" Abram called back, getting to his feet.

"A messenger from Lot resides in my tent. He is greatly shaken by recent events, so I came to carry on his message," the herdsman said. "My name is Eleazar."

"Eleazar, has something happened to Lot?" Abram asked, alarm in his voice. Clenching his fists at his side, the grizzle-bearded patriarch was instantly every inch the warrior you didn't want to meet in an alley in broad daylight with flowered wallpaper.

"Chedorlaomer has allied with four other Canaanite kings and has ransacked the cities of the plains. Lot, along with his entire household and possessions, has been carried off. Your nephew begs the aid of you and your God," Eleazar said.

"Gather the men," the warrior answered, steel in his voice.

**When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. (Genesis 14:14)**

The battle had been furious and bloody. Chedorlaomer and his four cohorts were dead.

Lot was in tears and hugging his uncle. "Abram, thank the stars you came when you did. We were bound for Phoenicia to be sold as slaves."

Disengaging his nephew's arms, Abram's eyes swept over the recovered spoils of war. He felt good about what he had done, but he knew the victory hadn't been his.

"It is God who has won the battle, Lot. It is to Him, you should give your thanks, not I," Abram answered at last.

As Abram uttered those words, the Presence was felt in the palace of the king of Salem.

**"Melchizedek!"** the Great King called out. **"A great battle was fought on the cities of the plain. Go to Abram the Hebrew, and do as I instruct."**

The king of Salem bowed his head to the earth. "At once, Father of Life," he said, making a mental list of things he would need.

**Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-20)**

When Bella, the King of Sodom, pretended to be generous about dividing the spoils, Abram let him have it. The King of Sodom smarted from the insult for several days.

Lot, to his uncle's disappointment, chose to return with his family to live in the City of Sin.

_"Not a pleasant situation to deal with," the Lord commented._

_"Are You referring to the battle with Chedorlaomer or the family You asked me to visit today?" Moses asked, putting down his stylus._

_"The family," came the reply. "When a man and a woman make vows before me, I expect them to honor the promises they make to each other and to Me. Wedding vows, especially."_

_Moses nodded in understanding. It had been a strange case. The wife had been confined outside the camp with a strange disease the healers' couldn't identify. The husband chose to get drunk and bad-mouth the wife's parents' who were only trying to help. Their three daughters didn't blame their mother if she chose to divorce the drunken sotted old fool. _

_"Be with this family, O Adonai," he prayed._

_"I will," Adonai promised. "I am always a prayer away."_


	7. Blue Dreams

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Blue Dreams**

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Something woke him up. A great terror flooded his soul. _What?_

The Son shook His head. Humans would never change. He wasn't _that_ terrifying.

**After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can You give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eleazer of Damascus? (Genesis 15:1-2)**

"Loyal, though he is, another will inherit the promise. Through him, One will come who will redeem the whole earth."

Abram had to clean the wax out of his ears. This was too much, even for Him. "Eleazer..."

**Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6)**

Abram bowed his face to the earth. _A child of my loins! _His heart leaped for joy.

"Praise be El Shaddai!" he exclaimed.

The Lord smiled, receiving back the love He had bestowed to this beloved son.

**As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants wil be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. (Genesis 15:12-16)**

_Moses dropped the stylus. "Why did You tell him that on so joyous an occasion?"_

_"My perogative," Adonai replied. "Write."_

_Moses had to laugh. "Now, I know how Miriam feels."_

_Adonai, strangely, was quiet. Being unpredictable kept humans on their toes. _


	8. Entwined Female

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Entwined Female**

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"Abram, this _is_ going to work!" Sarai argued with the aging patriarch.

He folded his arms and glowered at her. "You are asking me to violate our marriage bed so that you can be a surrogate mother through Hagar, your maidservant!" he thundered.

"So?" she countered, not batting an eyelash.

He threw in the towel. He knew better than to argue with his wife.

**Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed with her. (Genesis 16 1:1-2)**

Abram found Hagar drawing water from the well. Running a trembling finger over a rosy cheek, her lips parted slightly.

"Master?" she asked, a bit confused. "Is something the matter?"

Abram closed his eyes in fear. Opening them, he glanced down at the befuddled girl. "When you are finished drawing the water for your mistress' bath, come to my tent."

Hagar nearly dropped the clay jar she was carrying. _He did not just ask me what I think he just asked?_

Out loud, she lowered her eyes. "Yes, master."

Abram nodded and walked on to where the goats were being pastured. Maybe tallying his herds would help him keep his mind off a not-too-unpleasant task he had to do that evening.

**When she knew that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me." (Genesis 16:4b-5)**

"Abram, get rid of her!" Sarai screeched at him, throwing a clay saucer to emphasize her meaning.

Her husband dodge the projectile and darted a furtive glance at the entrance. "Sarai, please, don't make this any worse than it already is."

Keturah's aim was better than Sarai's. He sighed in exasperation as contents from the chamber pot dripped down his beard. The disgusting thing had come from Egypt."Was that really necessary?" he asked her.

She smiled sweetly at him.

Outside the camp, Hagar ran as fast as her feet could carry her. Better to die in the desert than to be bondswoman to that harridan.

After wandering for what seemed like hours, she stopped to rest at a well. She quenched her thirst and wandered at the child to be born soon. Would he really be the promised son?

She realized she had brought no food with her. She groaned. She really was going to die out here.

"Hagar!" a haunting voice called out her name over the desert's humid wind.

The wind swirled around a man who appeared as if by magic from the desert sands.

**Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count." (Genesis 16:9-10)**

Hagar's eyes grew larger than hubcaps. _This is my master's God!_

**She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. (Genesis 16:13-14)**

"Rats!" Belial swore, snapping his fingers in frustration.

**So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. (Genesis 16:13-15)**

_Moses looked over what he'd written thoughtfully. He sighed, put down the stylus, and blew out the wick on the oil lamp. Miriam would kill him if he burned the midnight oil again._

_The Lord, meanwhile, stood on a skull-shaped hill, crying._


	9. Sharp Silver

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Sharp Silver**

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**When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm My covenant between me and you and I will greatly increase your numbers." (Genesis 17:1-2)**

Abram shook his head in disbelief as he recalled the Great King's words. "I must have been dreaming them," he told Keturah. She gave him a knowing look.

Sarai said nothing as she carded the goat's hair. Soon she would spin it and weave it into a new cloak for Abram. His current one looked a bit shabby.

**"As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham." (Genesis 17:4-5)**

The Great King never broke a promise. He never made one lightly either.

**"You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the convenant between you and Me." (Genesis 17:11)**

Abram got up and left the tent. Soon Keturah and Sarai heard the sound of the calling horn as the camp was called to meeting.

"What do you think could be going on?" Sarai asked her.

Keturah shrugged. She was just as curious and confused as Sarai.

Something was off about Abram today.

**God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her." (Genesis 17:15-16a)**

"Hear me, my people!" Abram projected his voice.

His son, Ishmael, proudly knew this day would come. His father was going to finally acknowledge him as his heir before the whole camp. He was six now and the only son of his father's loins.

"The God of my fathers came to me this night. He has chosen to make a convenant with our people to always be our God and has promised to increase our numbers."

Ishmael shifted uncomfortably. _What is Father talking about?_

"We, in turn, have been asked to be a righteous people. El Shaddai doesn't expect us to be perfect people; He knows we can never be that. He wants us to walk in His ways."

"What sign did He demand?" one of the elders asked. It was common knowledge in those parts, that gods always demanded something in return for their favors.

"Tomorrow, every male in the camp, foreigner and tribesman, from eight days old to old men like me, will report to the healing tent and undergo circumcision," he answered, noting a few of the men unconsciously move their hands to protect their 'family jewels'.

Ishmael winced at the mention of the bloody ritual. _How could the great God of my father demand this?_

But Abram was speaking again.

**Abram fell face down; he laughed. (Genesis 17:17a)**

"No longer am I to be called 'Abram'," the patriarch told the tribe. "I am to be henceforth known as 'Abraham'!"

A few people in the crowd glanced over at Ishmael, who beamed with pride.

"A good choice," a goldsmith said, admiring the youth. "A virile stud he will be, when he gets older. 'Father of many nations' indeed."

"Sarai is no longer to be called by her old name. The LORD has renamed her 'Sarah'; my princess!"

Hagar ground her teeth in anger.

Bad enough that woman ruled the roost in Abram's tent; now she had to endure her inflated ego even more.

How much more would she have to endure this?

**"But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." (Genesis 17:21)**

_The LORD waited patiently for Moses to quit laughing. "Are you quite finished?"_

_Moses, a twitter escaping his lips, burst out laughing again._

_The LORD had to crack a grin at the memory of why He'd chosen that particular name for Abraham and Sarah's only child._


	10. Angel's Sword

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

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**Angel's Sword**

* * *

**The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. (Genesis 18:1-2a)**

The Great King called forth two of His greatest champions, the angels Araton and Soterasiel.

"**Go with My Son to the fallen planet. There you will find a man named Abraham, whose nephew lives among the cities of the plain. Their sin cries out to Me and I can no longer bear the stench in My nostrils. I will send fire from heaven to eradicate the cities. Get Lot and his family out of there and to the mountains for Abraham's sake."**

Araton bowed his head. "Yes, Most High, it will be done."

A bright light surrounded the throne for a second, then the Son appeared in the guise of an ordinary Middle Eastern man in his early thirties. "Let's go," He said.

Soterasiel, ever the serious one, had a niggling thought in the back of his mind. "Somehow, Lord, I don't think this is going to be the last time we will see You as a human being."

Araton gaped. "Soterasiel!"

The Son laughed. "Araton, I am not offended. Soterasiel is correct; you will yet see Me thus again." He gestured downward at His human form.

His face grew sober. "Come, let's go give Abraham and Sarah the joyous news.

Araton and Soterasiel greatly enjoyed Abraham's hospitality. He was a true man of the east; great and courteous to all travelers. And he had the Lord's heart.

Speaking of which...

The Son smiled as he regarded the woman who ducked out of sight. Like any typical woman, she had to know what was going on. He chuckled at that.

"Sarah will soon have a son as I promised you," the Lord told Abraham.

Sarah gasped. _Who was this stranger? He had to be joking! _

She gave a short bark of short laughter. "Me? Bear a son at my age? Abraham and I aren't spring chickens!"

The next words that reached her ears made her blood run cold. "Why did Sarah say...?"

"I did not!" she yelled back.

"Yes, you did laugh," the words came to her clear as day.

"Who are You?" she asked, peering at the three travelers, one of whom looked square at her.

**"Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." (Genesis 18:14)**

"You will call his name 'Isaac'," the Lord added.

It took every ounce of will power for Araton and Soterasiel not to laugh. Humans were amazing creatures. They were relieved that the Lord hadn't struck her dead when she'd lied to Him.

The Son raised an eyebrow at Araton just then.

Araton ducked his head and blushed, causing Soterasiel to laugh softly.

Very few things can make an angel blush.

The three men arose and thanked Abraham for his generous meal and walked with him up a winding path to a hill with a lone olive tree for shade.

Araton and Soterasiel, knowing their orders, left the Lord and Abraham and continued on towards the cities of the plains. Araton felt sick to his stomach, if he'd been human.

**Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" (Genesis 18:17)**

"Something's troubling You," Abraham noted, following the Lord's gaze.

**Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. (Genesis 18:20-21)**

"Before the night is over, the cities of the plain will be no more," the Lord quietly replied.

It was Abraham's turn for his veins to turn to icicles. "Lot!" he blurted out. "Lord, surely You won't do this if innocent people are in the city?"

**"Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)**

The Son sighed. He didn't often make bargains; humans often said that God never made bargains. Contrary, He called them covenants and took them very seriously. He understood that Abraham was concerned for his nephew and his family. His heart went out to this man.

**He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." (Genesis 18:32b)**

Abraham looked up and saw that he was alone on the hill. He looked down and saw the two other men, no, angels, and watched them make their way into the city.

Bowing low to the earth, he offered up prayers to the Lord for mercy, thanksgiving, and the joy of having a son in the near future. Lastly, he prayed for the lost souls of the cities of the plains.

Death was in the air.

_"Did it feel weird to be human?" Moses asked the Lord._

_"No more than it will when I do so again," the reply came._

_"I'd love to meet You then," Moses said, finding it hard to imagine the Great God as a mortal._

_"We'll see," came the Most High's traditional oblique answer._

_Moses thought back over to what the Lord had told him. "Isaac," he murmured, "means 'laughter'. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when He told them they would have a son in their old age."_

_He shook his head. "You have a crazy sense of humor," he told the Lord._

_"Wouldn't be the first time I've been told that," came the off-hand reply._


	11. Ashes of the Angel

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I do not own the Bible.

* * *

**Ashes of the Angel**

* * *

**The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. (Genesis 19:1a)**

"Okay, now where did the Lord say Lot was living?" Araton asked.

"He didn't," Soterasiel replied. "He just said that we'd find him in the city gate."

Araton frowned at the sea of humans parted around him. "There are sometimes I wonder about Him," he muttered.

**"We'll discuss it when you return after your mission," **the Great King interjected. **"The old man with the brown sandals and desert robes is Lot. Go with him to his home. Get him and his family out of the city."**

"Yes, Almighty One," the two angels said.

"Lot," Soterasiel said, shaking the old man awake.

"Yes?" he asked, staring at the strangers.

"Let us go to your house. There is much to do before dawn," Araton told him.

Something in the stranger's voice bespoke of his uncle Abraham's God.

"This way," he told them, leading the way to his home.

**Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." (Genesis 19:5)**

Araton couldn't believe his ears when Lot went outside and actually offered the depraved crowd his two virgin daughters.

"Things are worse here than we thought," Soterasiel murmured to Araton.

As the din rose, the two angels decided they had had enough. Grabbing Lot, they pulled him inside and slammed the door shut.

Unseen to the human eye, the glory of the Lord was revealed, causing much confusion to the motley perverted crew outside the door.

**Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door. (Genesis 19:11)**

"Are they always this friendly?" Soterasiel joked.

"Soterasiel!" his companion exclaimed.

**The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here-sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it. (Genesis 19:12-13)**

" But this is our home!" Lot's wife shouted.

"Your choice: life or death," Araton said, a tone of finality in his voice.

Lot nodded grimly. "We will pack. The Most High is merciful," he said as an afterthought.

The two angels urged Lot to hurry, but he hesitated a bit.

"Lot! You must hurry before the Lord destroys you along with these wicked people," Araton urged.

**When he hesistated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" (Genesis 19:16-17)**

Dawn found Lot, his wife and two daughters fleeing the burning city. Lot would have nightmares for weeks to come when he thought about what might have happened.

**Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the LORD out of the heavens. (Genesis 19:24)**

Lot learned too well the full price of disobeying the Lord's commands.

Just ask his wife.

Oh yeah.

She's a pillar of salt.

**But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)**

Soterasiel looked up from the stack of books he was organizing.

"This isn't so bad," he said, from his table.

"Shut up," Araton grumbled. "Do you even realize how many books there are in this place?"

"Enough to keep us occupied 'till Judgement Day," Soterasiel said, sorting out the next pile of books.

"I said I was sorry!" Araton shouted to the ceiling.

**"A week is not forever,"** the Great King answered him from the Throne. **"And the Library's storage room did need to be reorganized."**

"Oh cheer up, Araton," Soterasiel said, handing him a book.

Araton groaned when he read the title.

_100 Reasons Not to Question the Elohim_ by Raphael.

This just wasn't his day!


	12. Nobody of the Heart

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

* * *

**Nobody of the Heart**

* * *

"We're not going through this again, Abraham!" Sarah yelled, throwing a clay pot at him.

Abraham dodge the flying pottery. Over the seventy-five years they had been married, he became quite the dashing dodger...especially since she had developed quite a _good_ aim in recent years.

"Sarah," he pleaded, "you have to understand my position here. If the King of Gerar finds out you're my wife, he'll kill me."

"Either way, you're a dead man, Abraham, son of Terah," she told him. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time we were in Egypt?"

The Son shook His head. "Apparently not," He said.

The Great Uncle rose to His feet. _"Humans are notoriously slow learners. Abimelech is not a bad man. Let Me handle this one."_

Sarah's prediction proved right, of course. Stubborn as he was, Abimelech took Sarah into his harem. Abraham was blessed with many riches and friendship with the king and watering rights at the best wells for his large flock.

Abimelech, the Philistine king, however, did not go near Sarah. He had a sense of forboding that his life would be over if he touched her in any inappropriate way.

Then came the plague. And the dream.

**But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."**

**Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."**

**Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die." (Genesis 20:3-7)**

_"So the next day, Abimelech had words with Abraham over his deceit," the Lord told him._

_Moses just shook his head. "I don't know how You are able to put up with us."_

_"Wisdom, Moses, is composed of two parts," the Lord said after a long pause._

_Moses arched an eyebrow at this. "Which are?"_

_"Having a lot to say and not saying it," the Lord finished. _

_Moses hung his head. "Something You are a master expert in," he muttered._

_"I heard that," the Lord cooly responded._


	13. The Child of the Promise

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

* * *

**The Child of the Promise**

* * *

Sarah was still upset with Abraham over the 'Abimelech' incident and still wouldn't talk with Abraham very much.

"At least, you're not mad at me, right, Keturah?" he asked her one day.

Keturah snorted, shot him a rude gesture, and went back inside to attend to Sarah.

Sarah.

Childless Sarah.

Childless no more.

In the six months sent the incident, Sarah has blossomed with new life. Jokes about ripe fruit ran rampant through the camp.

Three turns of the moon later, the camp woke to screams and shouts of laughter.

After the baby's cord had been cut and the babe washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in swaddling bands, Sarah peered with wonder at the wrinkled tiny child in her arms.

"Abraham, I should have never laughed at Him," she told him, as he quietly entered the tent.

"We both did," he answered, smiling down at the now-sleeping babe, who in eight-days time, would be circumcised to 'seal the covenant' with the LORD and would be named "Isaac" as instructed by the self-same deity.

**Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (Genesis 21:6-7)**

Not many weeks after Isaac's birth, Sarah's old rivalry with Hagar began brewing once again.

Hagar, it seemed, had been spreading rumors that Isaac had been adopted from a wandering tribe of Hittites and that _her _son, Ishmael, was the true son of the Promise.

Sarah's temper flared at the thought.

"Abraham!" she yelled, drawing breath into her lungs.

Abraham sighed and put down his stylus. "Eleazar, please continue the inventory of the lambs, while I see what's going on _now_."

Eleazar grinned cheekily. "Women troubles, Master Abraham?"

Abraham looked at him sourly before turning to head off the storm off at the pass.

Again.

**And she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." (Genesis 21:10)**

Not many days into their exile, Hagar laid her son to sleep on the desert floor. No water, the food almost gone and a hot, merciless sun had driven them in the death's open arms.

"Not on My watch," the Son muttered, taking on the form of an angel.

**God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid: God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." (Genesis 21:17-18)**

_"You know," Moses dryly commented, "I really hate Your cliffhangers."_

_"I know," the Lord replied. "I love doing that."_

_"I'll bet," Moses muttered._

_"And don't think I didn't hear you mentally call Me a 'meddling old coot' a second ago either," the Most High told him._

_"Rats!" the Levite exclaimed._

_"What did I tell you about swearing?" the Lord asked His prophet sternly._

_"That you had to constantly tell Isaiah to watch his language," Moses replied._

_"There are times and there are times," the Lord said, rolling His eyes up heavenwards. _


	14. The Death Game

Parables of the Bible: Abram's Call

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible.

* * *

**The Death Game**

* * *

**Some time later God tested Abraham. (Genesis 22:1a)**

The Son refused to watch any part of this test.

Though the Great King understood His Son's reluctance, He quietly asked Him to remain.

**"I understand it's painful, but I need for You to understand why it's necessary,"** He told Him.

The Son nodded His head; painful memories flashing before His eyes.

**Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." (Genesis 22:2)**

Abraham's heart stopped as he heard the Most High's instructions. "You gave me a son, and now, not many years later, You claim him from me. What kind of God are You?" he yelled at the silent sky.

**"Go to Moriah, Abraham,"** the Great King said, after a long period of silence.

**He said to his servants, "We will worship and then we will come back to you." (Genesis 22:5b)**

"Something's wrong with the master and the young master," one of the servants said, watching the old patriarch and his son ascend the mountain.

"Even odder is the fact that he brought no sacrifice," the other servant said.

"You don't think..."

"He did say they would _both_ return," the second servant observed.

"But still, what will he use for the sacrifice? Surely, not the boy," the first servant said.

"I hope not," the second servant said, signaling the end of the conversation.

**"The fire and the wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" **

**Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Genesis 22:7c-8)**

The Son now was openly weeping. His heart was broken because of the promise He had made to the first humans. "Why didn't We just blow up everything while We had the chance?"

The Great Uncle drew His arms around the Son and lent His shoulder to the weeping Man. _"I am here, My Child," he whispered. "It will all work out in the end. Do not be afraid."_

**"Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son." (Genesis 22:12)**

**On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided. (Genesis 22:14b)**

_"And so My Spirit comforted My Servant," the Lord said said, drawing the story to a close._

_"Why was He upset?" Moses asked, troubled by his Lord's words._

_"Be thankful you are not omniscient," the Lord replied._


End file.
